The Very Reverend is an honorific style given to higher-ranking members of a clergy.
[1] In the Catholic Church, the style is given, by custom, to priests who hold positions of particular note.
The style is also accorded in the Dominican Order to holders of the title of Master of Sacred Theology.
In the Episcopal Church USA, the dean of a seminary or divinity school is also styled in this form, as is the priest who is either appointed by the local bishop or elected by fellow priests as the leader of a deanery, which is a geographic subdivision of a diocese.
[citation needed] In some mainline Protestant churches with a Presbyterian heritage, the style is used for former Moderators of the General Assembly, such as: By custom, the Dean of the Chapel Royal, the Dean of the Thistle and (if a Church of Scotland minister) the principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews, are also styled The Very Reverend.